Several people are feared dead and hundreds more have been left homeless as bushfires continue to burn in southern Australia.

Specialist rescue teams are moving from home to home searching for the missing in the island state of Tasmania.

Thousands of people have been left stranded and around 100 buildings destroyed across the scorched landscape since Friday.

Fuelled by a record heatwave, the blaze has forced many residents to flee to evacuation centres.

Farmland and businesses have also been destroyed, with many losing their livelihoods as well as their homes.

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Gallery: Bushfires Rage Across Australia

Out-of-control bushfires continue to sweep across southern Australia.

Channel 9 correspondent Darren Curtis, in Dunalley, Tasmania, where at least 80 properties have been ravaged by the fires, told Sky News: "A lot of the people that stayed actually said that the fire was so intense when it swept through that it was like being at an international airport and standing behind the jets.

"The roar was so intense - gas bottles were flaring all over the place. In fact, water tanks were actually bubbling and turning to steam.

"People here were right next to the ocean. People were prepared to move, but the fire came down so quickly they actually had to go and lower themselves into the water with their pets and their children, and just have their nose above the water, as the flames swept all around them.

"The fire here was so intense. They were ready for it, but it just moved so quickly.

"Homes cannot be salvaged. The owners say there was so little left inside them they are not even going to bother searching through the debris and look for any treasures that they may be able to find in there."

He added: "The temperatures have dropped a little bit, but the wind still remains high.

"Now that could flare the temperatures up and push the fires out of the bush and into some more of the suburbs around here."

On Saturday, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard pledged to help all those affected by the fires.

"We will be working with them, as will the state government, to support people through," she said.